The article tells of a man named Lesley “Lucky” Duke. Duke is one of the few Americans that is actually informed of how energy in gasoline works. The idea is that temperature has a great affect on how much energy is present in the gasoline that we are pumping into our vehicles. The government standard agreed upon nearly a century ago claims that fuel will be sold at 60 degrees. Duke decided to test this standard by measuring the temperature of the fuel as he pumped the fuel into his truck’s tank. His thermometer finally reaches a temperature of 93 degrees Fahrenheit. This difference in temperature is costing fuel consumers much more than we would assume. With the increase in temperature, the gasoline expands, therefore giving us less energy per gallon. Some estimates in the difference is getting 392 miles for fuel at 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and 400 miles at 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The idea is that since fuel pumps are not adjusted to account for expansion of hot fuel, U.S. consumers are spending about $2.3 billion more this year.
Initially when I read the article I was appalled. The more I considered what was taking place I came to the conclusion that I should have assumed something like this was taking place. The sad thing is that most Americans have no clue this is even occurring. At this point with the economy the average person is probably assuming that they are getting gypped. However, I think it is unethical to not make more Americans aware of the standard temperature of gasoline and how it is affecting them.
News & Record, Greensboro, NC Steve Everly Thursday, August 31, 2006
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